The Miami Dolphins are sorting through the nightmare that belongs to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who is scheduled to meet with neurologists. And head coach Mike McDaniel also faces questions on running back De’Von Achane’s workload, with a reply that he sees no reason to decrease it.
The Dolphins’ young star has a team-high 46 touches in two games, according to a post on X by ESPN reporter Marcel Louis-Jacques — who said he asked McDaniel about Achane’s heavy workload.
“It's hard not to give guys opportunities who are thirsting for the ball and doing something with it,” McDaniel said. “All he's done is give us more reasons to give him the ball.”
Dolphins RB De’Von Achane off to strong start
McDaniel stated before the season that Achane appeared to be ready for the training wheels to come off, according to a team transcript via nbcsports.com.
“Year Two, you kind of let everything settle,” McDaniel said. “Understand much more of the whys of everything that you do. And for him, the more he can understand within the offense, the more ways he can get the ball. He had outstanding ball production (as a rookie), some of which I know he feels specifically that there’s more out there. (There are) more ways (for him) to be at the point of attack to play within this offense. That’s what this offseason really provides for him. You can tell by his body. He’s put some work into it. And then him just understanding everything about our offense. So he can be as big a part of it as possible. That’s his goal.”
And Achane turned out to be one of the few Dolphins who played up to potential in the Week 2 blowout loss to the Bills, according to a team transcript via media.miamidolphins.com.
“I thought De’Von really showed some really cool professional growth in a short week,” McDaniel said. “He was in the training room non-stop, trying to take advantage of this opportunity. He knew we had already taken a shot at that position so what he was able to do tonight, I thought he performed very well. The only reason he was able to have the opportunity was because he really went all in, and in the process showed his teammates how much he can be counted on. He was literally living in the training room to get out there. I thought it was a cool individual piece of growth in an otherwise pretty miserable experience.”
What has Achane produced through two weeks?
Achane torched the NFL for 800 yards with a 7.8 per carry average as a rookie. However, Achane’s numbers haven’t been quite as impressive through two weeks of 2024. But he has a different role. So it’s no surprise to see the per-carry average dwindle from that lofty mark.
In 32 carries, Achane has 120 yards with a touchdown. He also has 14 catches for 145 yards and another score. Still, he’s a dynamic breakaway threat. And bigger plays are likely on the horizon if the Dolphins keep feeding him the football.
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